Breaking Off the Engagement and Officially Becoming Single
Now that Lin Jin had evidence that Huo Jianting had cheated during their engagement, he couldn’t be bothered to wait another minute, much less stay entangled with him. He blocked Huo Jianting’s number and WeChat, then posted an announcement ending the engagement on his personal Weibo.
After all, ending an engagement didn’t involve any legal formalities, and there were no financial entanglements like an engagement gift between him and the Huo family. The moment the announcement went public, Lin Jin was officially single again.
Thinking of how, in the original novel, he supposedly “clung stubbornly to the engagement,” Lin Jin couldn’t help laughing.
Now that he’d changed the plot and let that “ill-fated couple” be together, he wondered whether they’d finally find happiness without the “villain” getting in their way. Though Lin Jin did find it strange that, given Huo Jianting’s vicious nature, he’d later put up with Lin You flirting with so many people without taking revenge. Wasn’t that out of character?
But whatever they did now had nothing to do with Lin Jin, and he had no interest in looking into it.
Free of those people, Lin Jin felt lighter than he ever had. He was sure he’d sleep even better tonight than he had last night.
Lin Jin tossed his phone aside and got up to head to the bathroom.
◇◆
Lin You returned home after an enjoyable date. As soon as he opened the door, Mother Lin came to greet him, peering past him toward the street.
“Youyou, did Young Master Huo bring you home? Why didn’t you invite him in?”
Lin You shut the door, looking at her in confusion. “I drove myself today.”
Mother Lin looked a little disappointed, but kept smiling. “Oh, I see. So how have things been between you lately? Has Young Master Huo said anything about the engagement…”
At that, Lin You brightened. “He said he’ll talk to Lin Jin tomorrow about ending the engagement.”
Mother Lin was relieved. “That’s good. You need to keep a firm hold on Young Master Huo. Then our families can work together and prosper. By the way, is he only in charge of Guangke right now?”
“He’s Guangke’s general manager. He just graduated and came back from abroad last year, and now he’s getting some experience running a subsidiary.” Lin You looped his arm through Mother Lin’s and led her toward the living room. “That’s the normal way to do things. Grandpa was just biased toward Lin Jin. Look around the circle, and tell me whose kid gets parachuted into a senior position at headquarters right after graduating.”
Mother Lin nodded. “That’s true. I hope his talk with Lin Jin goes smoothly tomorrow and they end the engagement soon. With Lin Jin’s nose-in-the-air attitude, he shouldn’t cling to Huo Jianting.”
They walked from the entryway into the living room, still chatting, and found Father Lin on the sofa, staring at his phone with a strange expression.
Father Lin looked up at Lin You. “Did I just hear you say Young Master Huo was going to talk to Lin Jin tomorrow?”
Lin You led Mother Lin over to sit down. “Yes. Why?”
“I don’t know if they’ve talked already, but the engagement’s been ended.”
As he spoke, Father Lin held out his phone. Lin You took it and saw Lin Jin’s Weibo profile. His latest post was about the engagement:
@LinJinV: Huo Jianting and I have officially ended our engagement. @Lin Group @Guangke
Lin You stared in surprise. “What… Did Jianting tell him ahead of time?”
Father Lin frowned. “Could Lin Jin have found out about you two?”
“I don’t think so…”
“Anyway, get in touch with Young Master Huo later. Make sure he doesn’t think our family has anything against him. Lin Jin’s actions represent only himself. They have nothing to do with us, and there’s nothing we can do to control him.”
“He should understand. I told him today that Lin Jin had resigned and planned to sell his shares.”
Father Lin cleared his throat, then added, “While you’re at it, ask if he can lend us some money. I went through my assets today, and I might still be short if I want to buy Lin Jin’s 15%. If that doesn’t work, we’ll have to sell a house.”
A flicker of surprise crossed Lin You’s face. Since Lin Jin was also Father and Mother Lin’s biological son, the family had always put their houses in Lin You’s name whenever they bought one. If they sold a house, it would be his assets they were selling.
Even though Lin You wasn’t keen on asking for money, he still walked obediently to the side and called Huo Jianting.
“Jianting, did you see my brother’s Weibo post?”
“I did. I just tried to contact him, but he’s blocked me everywhere. What’s with him? Posting something like that unilaterally without even saying a word!”
Hearing the edge in Huo Jianting’s voice, Lin You softened his tone, adding a hint of a sob. “I don’t know either. He hasn’t come home since he left last night, and we haven’t been able to reach him…”
Huo Jianting immediately softened his voice to comfort him. “I’m not blaming you. Forget it, let’s not worry about him. I’ve already had Guangke’s official account post a statement too. All that matters is that the engagement’s over.”
Lin You murmured his agreement. The two of them talked sweetly for quite a while before he hung up and returned to the sofa.
Seeing the expectant looks on Father and Mother Lin’s faces, Lin You smiled. “Jianting said he doesn’t have much cash on hand either, but if we need it, he can buy 5%. He just doesn’t know if Lin Jin will be willing to sell to him, so it’d be best if you transferred 5% to him first, Dad.”
Father Lin froze. “But… can’t he just lend us the cash?”
Lin You immediately looked troubled. “It’s such a huge amount. I’d be embarrassed to ask him for that…”
Father Lin fell silent, thinking it over.
Mother Lin glanced between father and son, then patted Father Lin’s arm. “Youyou has a point. They’ve only been dating for a little while. Borrowing so much money so soon would strain the relationship. There’s nothing wrong with having Young Master Huo buy the shares. He’ll only hold 5%, so it won’t make much difference.”
Lin You chimed in, “Mom’s right. Besides, Jianting will definitely be on your side, Dad.”
But Father Lin was still worried. “If I transfer 5% to him first, and things don’t go smoothly with Lin Jin, I’ll end up holding far less than the Li family.”
Mother Lin said, “Do you think the Li family isn’t after those shares too? I’m sure they’ll offer Lin Jin a high price. We need to have more money ready.”
Father Lin frowned even harder. “You’re right. I’ll have to think this over carefully…”
*
At the Huo family home, just after Huo Jianting hung up, Father Huo asked, “Are you planning to buy shares in Lin Group?”
Huo Jianting smiled. “Lin Jin’s selling the 15% he holds, and the Lin family doesn’t have enough cash. This is a good opportunity. Once I’m in, I’ll have a legitimate reason to get involved in Lin Group’s affairs.”
Father Huo nodded. “Good. Buy as much as you can, and tell me if you need more money. If we can build a closer partnership with Lin Group, their support will give our senior branch a chance to rise again.”
Huo Jianting cheerfully poured himself a glass of wine. “I think I can get at least 5%. Once the Lin and Li families start bidding against each other, maybe I can get as much as 8%. To be honest, Chairman Lin isn’t very capable. Once I’m on the board, I’ll make sure he listens to me. Then everything else will be easy.”
Mother Huo’s sharp voice rang out. “And Lin Jin gets off scot-free! What’s wrong with him? Who acts like that? Posting an announcement out of nowhere, without a word, humiliating our family! I knew from the first time I saw his face that he was the wrong choice for an engagement. It’s your fault for not looking into him properly.”
Father Huo said helplessly, “Enough. To outsiders, he was the most favored one, and Old Master Lin did dote on him the most. How could anyone have known their family was like this? Every family has its own troubles.”
Huo Jianting smiled, soothing his mother. “Mom, don’t be angry. Youyou said Lin Group’s official account will announce Lin Jin’s resignation in a little while. Then people will see that he was at fault and assume our family was the one that ended the engagement.”
Mother Huo’s expression finally eased. “That’s more like it.”
◇◆
At the same time, in another villa, people were discussing Lin Jin’s engagement as well.
Bai Zhuo was brushing Sanhua’s fur. At sixteen or seventeen, he was at the age when boys tended to be clumsy, but his movements were remarkably practiced. Clearly, he’d done this countless times before.
His hands never stopped as he chattered to Huo Yiming, who sat beside him. “Uncle, can you believe it? The gentleman we met at the pet clinic last night turned out to be Eldest Cousin’s fiancé! I nearly jumped out of my skin when my parents recognized him from a photo. So I really might get to see him again…”
Huo Yiming interrupted him. “He’s not your cousin’s fiancé anymore.”
“Huh?” Bai Zhuo looked up, bewildered.
Huo Yiming held out his phone. “The engagement’s over.”
Bai Zhuo tilted his head back to get the right distance. When he finally made out the post, his eyes widened. “They were only engaged for a month, and they’ve already fallen out of love?”
Huo Yiming drew back his phone and smiled. “I doubt there was ever any love to begin with.”
He’d been thinking of finding some business meeting or other occasion where he could “run into” Lin Jin, and hint that Huo Jianting had no real standing in the Huo family’s business empire, so Lin Jin should choose the right person if he wanted a strategic marriage. He hadn’t expected Lin Jin to move so quickly.
In high spirits, Huo Yiming continued idly scrolling through his phone. Before long, he turned the screen toward Bai Zhuo again. “This is probably why the engagement ended.”
Bai Zhuo looked closely and saw a new announcement on Lin Group’s official Weibo account, saying that Lin Jin, the company’s former vice president, had resigned that morning for personal reasons.
He blinked. It took him a while to understand what Huo Yiming meant, and his expression turned complicated. “My dad said Mr. Lin was Lin Group’s heir… So Eldest Cousin was after Lin Group, and now that Mr. Lin has left, he’s ending the engagement?”
Huo Yiming kept smiling. “The announcement ending the engagement came first, and the resignation announcement came later. We don’t know who ended it yet.”
Bai Zhuo tilted his head, confused. “But Mr. Lin resigned this morning…”
Huo Yiming patiently explained it to his young nephew. “A company’s internal affairs don’t need to be announced on a public platform. Besides, if he resigned in the morning, isn’t it strange for them to announce it at this hour, in the evening? And think about what you just said: now that Mr. Lin has left Lin Group, Eldest Cousin ended the engagement. What was your first reaction?”
Bai Zhuo paused, then chimed in instinctively, “Throwing someone away as soon as they’re no longer useful… What can I say? A strategic marriage at least pretends to be about love. This is so blunt it’s chilling.”
Huo Yiming gave him an approving look. “So I think Mr. Lin was probably the one who ended it. The senior branch likely felt humiliated and rushed Lin Group into posting a statement, trying to smear him and make outsiders think he’d done something wrong and been forced out of the family company, so they could say they ended the engagement. But they let Mr. Lin announce the breakup first, to spare his face.”
Bai Zhuo understood. “But they didn’t realize nobody cares about all those twists and turns between them. Mr. Lin hasn’t done anything illegal. This will just make people laugh at them for being so calculating and cold.”
Huo Yiming tapped his phone, speaking as if to himself. “Still, if Lin Group was willing to put out that announcement, it means they’re still connected to the senior branch in some other way…”
Bai Zhuo sighed. “Eldest Cousin’s father and the others still haven’t given up, even though they already have three subsidiaries.”
Huo Yiming didn’t answer. He only gave a quiet laugh before returning to the original topic. “Don’t worry, you’ll definitely get another chance to see Mr. Lin. He seemed to like Sanhua last night too. When you run into him again, you can bring him over to pet the cat.”
Bai Zhuo had been about to ask, “How can you be sure?” But when he heard the rest, he forgot all about it and immediately protested, “Its name is Mimi!”
Huo Yiming reached over and scratched under the calico kitten’s chin. “Sanhua.”
The kitten gave a soft meow.
Bai Zhuo: “…”
This cat was definitely a sucker for good looks!